Thailand mentioned in a new drug report

[webfact]

DRUGS
Thailand mentioned in a new drug report
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- East and Southeast Asia and South Asia continued to be a source of supply of pseudoephedrine and ephedrine used in illicit manufacture of methamphetamine in the region and other parts of the world, according to the 2014 World Drug Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

At the same time, Asia has increasing numbers of intermediary companies providing opportunity for diversion. The largest portion of licit precursor chemical export in Asia were by the Republic of Korea, followed by Japan, Singapore, Thailand, China and India.

"Countries in the region and international partners need to significantly scale-up cooperation and technical assistance in precursor control," said Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

As progress has been made in tracking down precursors, criminals have turned to new tactics, such as creating front companies and diverting precursors within countries to circumvent international controls. New unregulated "pre-precursors" have rapidly emerged as substitutes for the controlled precursors used to produce synthetic drugs like methamphetamine. UNODC urged vigilance.

"Monitoring global chemical flows is especially important with the rising manufacture and trafficking of synthetic drugs, which cannot be controlled with traditional supply reduction approaches like crop eradication," said Douglas. "A robust international control system must remain a key supply control strategy."

Around 243 million individuals, or 5 per cent of the world's population aged 15-64, used illicit drugs in the past year, according to the 2014 World Drug Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Problem drug users meanwhile numbered about 27 million, roughly 0.6 per cent of the world's adult population, or 1 in every 200 people.

Launching the report in locations including Vienna, Bangkok and Yangon today, UNODC appealed for a stronger focus on the health and human rights of all drug users, but particularly for those who inject drugs.

"There remain serious gaps in service provision. In recent years only one in six drug users globally has had access to or received drug dependence treatment services each year," said Yury Fedotov, UNODC Executive Director, stressing that some 200,000 drug-related deaths had occurred in 2012.

The UNODC said sustainable success in drug control required firm international commitment. A balanced and comprehensive approach addressing both supply and demand should be backed up by evidence-based responses focusing on prevention, treatment, social rehabilitation and integration.

"This is particularly important as we move towards the Special Session of the General Assembly on the world drug problem in 2016," Fedotov stated. He also stressed that controlled substances should be made more widely available for medical purposes, including for ensuring access to pain medication, while preventing their misuse and diversion for illicit ends.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Thailand-mentioned-in-a-new-drug-report-30237233.html


-- The Nation 2014-06-27

[terryp]

OH no not more thailand kicking ...why no one like thailand we best country you want lady

[EricBerg]

No country succeeded in rooting out drugs and drug related crime. Governments should consider regulating drugs by taking it out of illegality and produce drugs themselves. Drugs are the number one money making criminal industry all over the world. Making big cuts in that money circuit means taking out big finances from organised crime.

If governments control production and keep prices low or even give out drugs for free to uncureable addicts. Much drug related crime will be prevented and the users can be monitored better by health services. Organised crime then will suffer a very hard blow.

[The stuttering parrot]

Yeah great the government distributes yaa baa!

That'll work!

[Chao Lao Beach]

There have been a some big bust up north lately.

[Tanlic]

Yeah great the government distributes yaa baa!

That'll work!

I thought they already did

[AGareth2]

have the best pharma industries as well

[hyperdimension]

Do you detect the shift away from a "zero-tolerance" / "crackdown" / "strict enforcement" mindset in this article? Thailand's authorities should take great notice as this is the way many other parts of the world are moving. Seeing the issues of drugs from a health and harm-minimization perspective is a more common-sense approach.

Notice the distinction between "problem drug users" and those who have used illicit drugs in the past year:

Around 243 million individuals, or 5 per cent of the world's population aged 15-64, used illicit drugs in the past year, according to the 2014 World Drug Report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Problem drug users meanwhile numbered about 27 million, roughly 0.6 per cent of the world's adult population, or 1 in every 200 people.

This makes it clear that most illegal drug users don't have a problem. If we take those numbers, 27 / 243 = 11% of all illegal drug users worldwide are the ones who have a problem, so 89% of illegal drug users don't have a problem. This is in stark contrast to the common propaganda-borne belief that all illegal drug users have a problem and need treatment.

A good question to ask from this is which particular drugs cause the most problems. I'd presume heroin and crack cocaine, and if we took those out from the numbers then maybe the percentage of illegal drug users who don't have a problem (and don't use heroin or crack cocaine) may rise to 95%.

[hyperdimension]

Here is the link to the UNODC's World Drug Report 2014 web page, which the original news article should have provided: World Drug Report 2014

Edited June 27, 2014 by hyperdimension

[FangFerang]

Holland made all drugs legal and provides needles for junkies. When the law was first passed, drug use spiked...then kids saw addicts passed out in needle park in the rain and heavy drug use declined significantly.

International drug policy is a failure in two ways. It funds organized crime and creates worldwide bribes to oficials in every country. It also places drug addicts in jail with murderers and professional criminals, making prisons a vast and networked university for lawlessness.

Over half of USA detainees are there from drug convictions.

Now that's an entitlement with false pretenses to the moral high ground. The US has more people in prison than every other country except one...North Korea.

Facts suck.

Edited June 27, 2014 by FangFerang

[Hawk]

Isn't Thailand mentioned in nearly all drug reports, human rights and human trafficking reports?

So what's new?

[Doc Blake]

WAR ON DRUGS IS INTO ITS 43RD YEAR AND THIS IS THE BEST THEY CAN DO, WHAT A JOKE!

This is what comes from depending on a government to control our behavior.

We end up with a Nanny, and an open invitation to interfere directly in our personal lives.

Unless we ask directly for help, they have no right to force it on us, killing and jailing innocent people in the process.
***Sixty thousand Mexican men, women and children have died since 2006 trying to stop drugs from getting to addicts in USA, INSANITY!

Each individual has the right to happiness even if we harm ourselves, that is our business, not some Nanny government!
-If we threaten to harm someone else, like driving under the influence that is governments business to protect citizens!

I'll bet that most commenter's here who think we need a Nanny to control the public's behavior, are those alcoholic hypocrites we always hear from? Yup Do as I say not as I do, and they don't even get the connection!

Edited June 27, 2014 by Doc Blake

[Emster23]

I like idea of governments producing the now illegal drugs. Best way to destroy a business is to let the government run it seems to me.

[epicstuff]

war on drugs.

what was the definition of madness again?

[belg]

hub of drugs, human trafficking, corruption, ...

[hyperdimension]

Notice on page 47 of the report Figure 50 shows that:

6 tons of methamphetamines were seized in Thailand in 2010

10 tons of methamphetamines were seized in Thailand in 2011

10 tons of methamphetamines were seized in Thailand in 2012

I'd expect the seizures to be higher for 2013, yet in the annual burning ceremony that happened yesterday, only a total of 3 tons of various drugs were burned. Who can guess where the rest went?

[zyphodb]

Yeah great the government distributes yaa baa!

That'll work!

They, and their crony's in various uniforms already do don't they???

Crystal Meth & it's offshoots, are probably some of the biggest killers of all, but the only way of regaining any sort of control over drugs of any description is by legalising the lot

& taking the money away from the criminals of all descriptions then taxing it & making a real effort in educating people. The war on drugs was lost decades ago just the same as when they tried banning alcohol in the states, doomed to failure from the word go. It'll never happen though, far too many rich & powerful people worldwide with all the right connections would lose their income...

Edited June 27, 2014 by zyphodb

[Crushdepth]

There are no drugs in Thailand. Thaksin had all the drug traffickers shot, remember?

Sent from somewhere in the Pacific

[Tredz]

WAR ON DRUGS IS INTO ITS 43RD YEAR AND THIS IS THE BEST THEY CAN DO, WHAT A JOKE!

This is what comes from depending on a government to control our behavior.

We end up with a Nanny, and an open invitation to interfere directly in our personal lives.

Unless we ask directly for help, they have no right to force it on us, killing and jailing innocent people in the process.

***Sixty thousand Mexican men, women and children have died since 2006 trying to stop drugs from getting to addicts in USA, INSANITY!

Each individual has the right to happiness even if we harm ourselves, that is our business, not some Nanny government!

-If we threaten to harm someone else, like driving under the influence that is governments business to protect citizens!

I'll bet that most commenter's here who think we need a Nanny to control the public's behavior, are those alcoholic hypocrites we always hear from? Yup Do as I say not as I do, and they don't even get the connection!

+1 !!! war for nothing !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[EricBerg]

Holland made all drugs legal and provides needles for junkies. When the law was first passed, drug use spiked...then kids saw addicts passed out in needle park in the rain and heavy drug use declined significantly.

International drug policy is a failure in two ways. It funds organized crime and creates worldwide bribes to oficials in every country. It also places drug addicts in jail with murderers and professional criminals, making prisons a vast and networked university for lawlessness.

Over half of USA detainees are there from drug convictions.

Now that's an entitlement with false pretenses to the moral high ground. The US has more people in prison than every other country except one...North Korea.

Facts suck.

Holland did NOT make all drugs legal. Hard drugs NEVER were legalised in Holland NOR were amfetamines or xtc-like stuff. There NEVER ever was a sudden big increase in hard drugs users in Holland either.

There was and still is a programm where incurable hard drugs addicts were/are given free methadon which they can only use under supervision of a doctor or of certain especially trained nurses. In the first months the project attracted several dozens of non-Dutch harddrugs addicts. They were not allowed into the project and were repatriated. Some of the patients in the project participate(d) in educational programms. They visit schools and talk about their lives to the schoolkids.

The addicts in the project get a whole set of treatments to make them function to some extents in society with much less criminal behaviour. Nowadays the group of harddrugs addicts in Holland isn't much growing. That means the average age of them is going up. Over 50 years old now! Certain hard drugs that do well in f.i. the UK did not get a market in Holland. Authorities have a very restrictive policy in that.

About twenty years ago the methadon project was copied more or less in cities like London and New York (!). The reasons were simple: Much less increase of the number of harddrugs addicts in Holland compared to all other western countries. And much less crimes by the harddrugs addicts to provide in their needs.

Far as I know holland wil be perhaps unique in the fact that it can close down a few prisons because the number of detainees is going down. That is mainly because the drugs-related crimes are less, where effectiveness of police is improving.

Soft drugs were legalised to some extent. After years of satisfying policy with that there is new development. The Dutch weed improved big time in quality. The THC in it is too much nowadays. That can lead to brain damage and structural problems with the cortex. Therefor now a new model is discussed. Either forbid soft drugs again or make it a government controlled operation. Production is simple and quality can be controlled. Criminalising soft drugs use again is not a real option. No country in the world succeeded in making that work.

[Doc Blake]

Holland made all drugs legal and provides needles for junkies. When the law was first passed, drug use spiked...then kids saw addicts passed out in needle park in the rain and heavy drug use declined significantly.

International drug policy is a failure in two ways. It funds organized crime and creates worldwide bribes to oficials in every country. It also places drug addicts in jail with murderers and professional criminals, making prisons a vast and networked university for lawlessness.

Over half of USA detainees are there from drug convictions.

Now that's an entitlement with false pretenses to the moral high ground. The US has more people in prison than every other country except one...North Korea.

Facts suck.

Holland did NOT make all drugs legal. Hard drugs NEVER were legalised in Holland NOR were amfetamines or xtc-like stuff. There NEVER ever was a sudden big increase in hard drugs users in Holland either.

There was and still is a programm where incurable hard drugs addicts were/are given free methadon which they can only use under supervision of a doctor or of certain especially trained nurses. In the first months the project attracted several dozens of non-Dutch harddrugs addicts. They were not allowed into the project and were repatriated. Some of the patients in the project participate(d) in educational programms. They visit schools and talk about their lives to the schoolkids.

The addicts in the project get a whole set of treatments to make them function to some extents in society with much less criminal behaviour. Nowadays the group of harddrugs addicts in Holland isn't much growing. That means the average age of them is going up. Over 50 years old now! Certain hard drugs that do well in f.i. the UK did not get a market in Holland. Authorities have a very restrictive policy in that.

About twenty years ago the methadon project was copied more or less in cities like London and New York (!). The reasons were simple: Much less increase of the number of harddrugs addicts in Holland compared to all other western countries. And much less crimes by the harddrugs addicts to provide in their needs.

Far as I know holland wil be perhaps unique in the fact that it can close down a few prisons because the number of detainees is going down. That is mainly because the drugs-related crimes are less, where effectiveness of police is improving.

Soft drugs were legalised to some extent. After years of satisfying policy with that there is new development. The Dutch weed improved big time in quality. The THC in it is too much nowadays. That can lead to brain damage and structural problems with the cortex. Therefor now a new model is discussed. Either forbid soft drugs again or make it a government controlled operation. Production is simple and quality can be controlled. Criminalising soft drugs use again is not a real option. No country in the world succeeded in making that work.

TOTAL DECRIMINALIZATION OF DRUGS IN PORTUGAL, SPAIN AND ITALY

Here are much better examples of countries decriminalizing all drugs! With references that make things much easier!

---Ten Years After Decriminalization, Drug Abuse Down by ...

www.forbes.com/.../ten-years-after-decriminalization-drug-abuse-in Spain

Forbes by Erik Kain - Jul 5, 2011 -

---Evaluating Drug Decriminalization in Portugal 12 Years Later

www.spiegel.de › English Site › Europe › Portugal

Mar 27, 2013 - Portugal paved a new path when it decided to decriminalize drugs of all kinds.

ALSO DRUG WITHDRAWAL IS MUCH SIMPLER TODAY WITHOUT METHADONE!

It was the early 1970’s, a time when the medical establishment had not yet considered any relationship between diet and behavioral health, and Schauss questioned why that was so. He had recently come across research showing that Vitamin C interfered with methadone treatment. By testing several hypotheses, he would discover that mega-doses of sodium ascorbate, one of several forms of Vitamin C, mediated opiate receptor sites which allowed addicts to withdraw from heroin without the normal side effects. -

Ref:

http://www.superconsciousness.com/topics/health/life-beyond-addiction#sthash.3zovHLUa.dpuf

Video regarding addicts cured With L-Sodium Ascorbate

Edited June 28, 2014 by Doc Blake

[Doc Blake]

Here are much better examples of countries decriminalizing all drugs! With references that make things much easier!

---Ten Years After Decriminalization, Drug Abuse Down by ...
www.forbes.com/.../ten-years-after-decriminalization-drug-abuse-in Spain

Forbes by Erik Kain - Jul 5, 2011 -

---Evaluating Drug Decriminalization in Portugal 12 Years Later
www.spiegel.de › English Site › Europe › Portugal

Mar 27, 2013 - Portugal paved a new path when it decided to decriminalize drugs of all kinds.

ALSO DRUG WITHDRAWAL IS MUCH SIMPLER TODAY WITHOUT METHADONE!
It was the early 1970’s, a time when the medical establishment had not yet considered any relationship between diet and behavioral health, and Schauss questioned why that was so. He had recently come across research showing that Vitamin C interfered with methadone treatment. By testing several hypotheses, he would discover that mega-doses of sodium ascorbate, one of several forms of Vitamin C, mediated opiate receptor sites which allowed addicts to withdraw from heroin without the normal side effects. -
Ref:
http://www.superconsciousness.com/topics/health/life-beyond-addiction#sthash.3zovHLUa.dpuf

Video regarding addicts cured With L-Sodium Ascorbate

[EricBerg]

Holland made all drugs legal and provides needles for junkies. When the law was first passed, drug use spiked...then kids saw addicts passed out in needle park in the rain and heavy drug use declined significantly.

International drug policy is a failure in two ways. It funds organized crime and creates worldwide bribes to oficials in every country. It also places drug addicts in jail with murderers and professional criminals, making prisons a vast and networked university for lawlessness.

Over half of USA detainees are there from drug convictions.

Now that's an entitlement with false pretenses to the moral high ground. The US has more people in prison than every other country except one...North Korea.

Facts suck.

Holland did NOT make all drugs legal. Hard drugs NEVER were legalised in Holland NOR were amfetamines or xtc-like stuff. There NEVER ever was a sudden big increase in hard drugs users in Holland either.

There was and still is a programm where incurable hard drugs addicts were/are given free methadon which they can only use under supervision of a doctor or of certain especially trained nurses. In the first months the project attracted several dozens of non-Dutch harddrugs addicts. They were not allowed into the project and were repatriated. Some of the patients in the project participate(d) in educational programms. They visit schools and talk about their lives to the schoolkids.

The addicts in the project get a whole set of treatments to make them function to some extents in society with much less criminal behaviour. Nowadays the group of harddrugs addicts in Holland isn't much growing. That means the average age of them is going up. Over 50 years old now! Certain hard drugs that do well in f.i. the UK did not get a market in Holland. Authorities have a very restrictive policy in that.

About twenty years ago the methadon project was copied more or less in cities like London and New York (!). The reasons were simple: Much less increase of the number of harddrugs addicts in Holland compared to all other western countries. And much less crimes by the harddrugs addicts to provide in their needs.

Far as I know holland wil be perhaps unique in the fact that it can close down a few prisons because the number of detainees is going down. That is mainly because the drugs-related crimes are less, where effectiveness of police is improving.

Soft drugs were legalised to some extent. After years of satisfying policy with that there is new development. The Dutch weed improved big time in quality. The THC in it is too much nowadays. That can lead to brain damage and structural problems with the cortex. Therefor now a new model is discussed. Either forbid soft drugs again or make it a government controlled operation. Production is simple and quality can be controlled. Criminalising soft drugs use again is not a real option. No country in the world succeeded in making that work.

TOTAL DECRIMINALIZATION OF DRUGS IN PORTUGAL, SPAIN AND ITALY

Here are much better examples of countries decriminalizing all drugs! With references that make things much easier!

---Ten Years After Decriminalization, Drug Abuse Down by ...

www.forbes.com/.../ten-years-after-decriminalization-drug-abuse-in Spain

Forbes by Erik Kain - Jul 5, 2011 -

---Evaluating Drug Decriminalization in Portugal 12 Years Later

www.spiegel.de › English Site › Europe › Portugal

Mar 27, 2013 - Portugal paved a new path when it decided to decriminalize drugs of all kinds.

ALSO DRUG WITHDRAWAL IS MUCH SIMPLER TODAY WITHOUT METHADONE!

It was the early 1970’s, a time when the medical establishment had not yet considered any relationship between diet and behavioral health, and Schauss questioned why that was so. He had recently come across research showing that Vitamin C interfered with methadone treatment. By testing several hypotheses, he would discover that mega-doses of sodium ascorbate, one of several forms of Vitamin C, mediated opiate receptor sites which allowed addicts to withdraw from heroin without the normal side effects. -

Ref:

http://www.superconsciousness.com/topics/health/life-beyond-addiction#sthash.3zovHLUa.dpuf

Video regarding addicts cured With L-Sodium Ascorbate

The Portuguese approach brought back the judicial costs of fighting drugs much. It also brought back the number of hard drugs addicts considerably. Yet there still keep coming new, young addicts. Still many for a small country like Portugal. Only a set of integrated measures seems to work best. The costs still are fairly low in Holland, though much higher than in Portugal. Yet the average hard drugs addict's age is still going up in Holland. This apparently unlike in Portugal. But the Portuguese system also shows it is way much better than the silly wars on drugs that are being fought and lost all over the world.

There are several treatments being researched. Some look promising. But treatment always must come with social reintegration on various levels. The addiction never is a purely physical/medical one. And that's where the Portuguese system comes short. No doubt it all has to do with money again. Still it works there much better and humanely than in most countries.